archeologia: Thylacine

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

The thylacine ( THY-luh-seen; Thylacinus cynocephalus), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, Tasmanian wolf or marsupial wolf, is an extinct species of carnivorous marsupial formerly native to the Australian mainland, Tasmania and New Guinea. It became extinct on mainland Australia and New Guinea approximately 3,600–3,200 years ago, possibly following the arrival of the dingo, which was introduced to Australia around the same period but never reached Tasmania. Prior to European settlement, the species remained widespread in Tasmania, where its population was estimated to number several thousand individuals. During the 19th century, the species was increasingly persecuted because of i…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) is an extinct sirenian described by Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741. At that time, it was found only around the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia; its range extended across the North Pacific during the Pleistocene epoch, and likely contracted to such an extreme degree due to the glacial cycle. It is possible that indigenous populations interacted with the animal before Europeans. Steller first encountered it on Vitus Bering's Great Northern Expedition when the crew became shipwrecked on Bering Island. Much of what is known about its behavior comes from Steller's observations on the island, documented in his posthumous publicat…